Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee	21 February 2023
Report of the Director of Public Health Portfolio of the Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health

Local Plan of Action for Drugs and Alcohol in York

Summary

1. The government’s 10-year strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’ (2021) lays out several aspirations which aim to reduce the harm caused by drug and alcohol use nationally.

2. Local delivery of this strategy has been in progress since its publication, including:

- the establishment of the York Drug and Alcohol Partnership in 2022, chaired by the Director of Public Health.

- the development of a Health Needs Assessment for drugs and alcohol.

- additional resourcing of the prevention and treatment system through the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant.

3. Additionally, partners have been working on a Local Plan of Action, which will be presented as a live and evolving plan to scrutiny committee for consultation and comment in this meeting.

Recommendations

4. Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee is asked to comment on the York Local Plan of Action for Drugs and Alcohol in York.

Reason: Scrutiny members’ comments will help shape this emerging action plan and strengthen the actions and work on reducing the harm caused by drugs and alcohol in the city.

Background

5. The 10 year From Harm to Hope drug plan aims to deliver:

- Strong local drugs partnerships with accountability to central government.

- A drugs needs assessment for each area, which will inform a local drug and alcohol strategy and action plan.

- A focus on reducing drug and alcohol related deaths.

- For 2% of all people in treatment to access residential rehabilitation services (minimum target).

- National treatment capacity to increase by 20%, and an agreed 3 year trajectory locally that will contribute to national ambition.

- Expectation that the grant will be invested in improving quality – including by reducing caseloads and increasing the professional staff mix across many agencies.

6. We know that drugs and alcohol continue to present an issue for health and wellbeing in York, as well as significant issues around housing, criminal justice, community cohesion, employment and safety. The Drugs and Alcohol Health Needs Assessment 2023 shows that:

- there are an estimated 810 opiate or crack users in York, with around 41% not in treatment.

- York has a higher proportion of people citing alcohol and benzodiazepines use than the England averages. 

- is estimated that 2,458 people were dependent on alcohol in 2018/2019, which is the latest published estimate. Using this estimate, a projected unmet need figure has been calculated for 2020/2021. It is estimated that 84% of people who are alcohol dependent are not in treatment.

- 21.4% of the population are drinking at above low risk levels (England 22.8%).

- Alcohol specific admissions (those admissions to hospital where the primary diagnosis or any of the secondary diagnoses are an alcohol-specific condition), are significantly higher in York (683 per 100,000) than in England (587 per 100,000) and the Yorkshire and Humber region (592 per 100,000).

- The most recent data on children in York affected by a parent with a drug or alcohol addiction is from 2019/2020, taken from NDTMS. In that period, York had a total of 446 new presentations to treatment.

- Based on an estimate of 506 adults having alcohol dependence who are living with children, the ONS estimate that this impacts between 766-842 children.

- Older data (2014-15) estimates that there are 294 opiate dependent adults living with children In York.

- 11.7% (234) of children in needs assessments identified alcohol misuse by a parent or other adult living with the child as an issue. Drug misuse was a factor in 8.6% (172) of assessments.

7. Through engagement with the York Drug and Alcohol service, police, probation, education and other partners, a Local Plan of Action is in development, which will be presented to Scrutiny committee members at this meeting. This plan is a live document which will be continually updated as the work progresses and is presented at a point in time for consultation and comment.  

8. The plan aligns to the national strategy, and has three key pillars:

Break drug supply chains

Ø targeting the ‘middle market’

Ø going after the money

Ø rolling up county lines

Ø tackling the retail

Ø restricting the supply of drugs into prisons

Deliver a world-class treatment and recovery system

Ø delivering world-class treatment and recovery

Ø strengthening the professional workforce

Ø ensuring better integration of services

Ø improving access to accommodation alongside

Ø improving employment

Ø increasing referrals into treatment in the criminal justice system

Ø keeping people engaged in treatment after release from prison

Achieve a generational shift in the demand for drugs

Ø applying tougher and more meaningful consequences

Ø delivering school-based prevention and early intervention

Ø supporting young people and families most at risk of substance misuse or criminal exploitation

Consultation

9. Partners from a large number of agencies are involved in this work through the Drugs and Alcohol Partnership. This partnership includes a strong element of ‘voice’, and the membership includes those with lived experience of drug and alcohol use and is linked in to the work of the recovery community that exists in York.

Options

10. There are no options to consider in this report.

Analysis

11. This is a report for information only.

Council Plan

12. The proposal directly relates to the Council Plan priority for Good Health and Wellbeing.

Specialist Implications

Financial

13. For the treatment and prevention element of this work, York was allocated £325,566 in the first year, rising to £450,444 in year three, to support achieving these outcomes. Additional funding has come into the criminal justice system through other routes.

Human Resources (HR)

14. There are no Human Resources implications from this report.

Equalities

15. An Equality Impact Assessment has been published on the use of the Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant.

Legal

16. There are no legal implications of this report.

Crime and Disorder

17. There are significant crime and disorder implication of this partnership working, reflecting the fact that substances are implicated in a large range of acquisitive crime, violence and anti-social behaviour. Through compassionate and evidence-based work to reduce the harm caused by drugs and alcohol in the city, the Local Plan should contribute to reducing crime and disorder.

Information Technology (IT)

18. There are no IT implications. 

Property

19. There are no property implications.

Risk Management

20. Significant national attention has been put upon reducing drugs harm and drug-related death, including through the creation of a cross-ministerial Combatting Drugs Unit and the grant funding received by local systems. Without a strong local plan of action, there is a risk that York will not deliver its contribution to national aspirations around drugs and alcohol, and substances will continue to harm our local population.

Contact Details

Author:	Chief Officer Responsible for the report:
Ruth Hine Public Health Specialist Practitioner (Advanced) ruth.hine@york.gov.uk	Peter Roderick Consultant in Public Health peter.roderick@york.gov.uk
	Report Approved	ü	Date		10 February 2023
Specialist Implications Officer(s)
Wards Affected:  List wards or tick box to indicate all				All		ü
For further information please contact the authors of the report